From the background of Child Development Psychology, it is known that 82% of the child’s brain is developed by the age of 7 years. Any experiences that happen before and during this time frame do have a deep impact on the long term.
Fear of the unknown is always the root cause of any fear. People are not scared of what they can co-associate with their sensory perceptions. But they are genuinely scared of the unknown, of what may happen, or can happen.
The biggest route to overcome children’s inherent fear of the dentist is to provide as much information as possible in the most child friendly, yet comprehensible vocabulary.
During the pre-procedure appointment, it’s important to explain the basic feelings such as, possible sounds, air pressure, water in the mouth, lying down in the chair, suction tube, cotton rolls, feel of metallic tools in the mouth and many more.
Tell-show-do technique is an age-old technique that justifies the significance of providing little details of each step so that children can then prepare themselves to cope accordingly.
All of these can be shared with children before hand understanding that familiarity will help them cope better.
Each time, one visits their dentist, they should be able to discuss behavior management and behavior modification techniques so that children are able to get all possible assistance that could be needed based on the level of their apprehensions.
The most pivotal underlying foundation of the successful relation with dentist lies in experiencing a positive dental appointment each time, thus, instilling positive dental attitude for lifetime.